Fastest cars in the world and the long-awaited return of the “King of Quake” will highlight IHRA season-opener in Baton Rouge    

By Mike Perry | IHRA Communications    

March 6-8 is a heavily anticipated date for drag racing fans everywhere for a number of reasons. Not only will the 2009 IHRA Nitro Jam season get underway that weekend at State Capitol Raceway in Baton Rouge, La., the biggest showman in motor sports, Bob Motz, the “King of Quake” will be making his long-awaited return to the strip after his catastrophic accident two seasons ago.

Tickets for the 2009 Inaugural Nitro Jam race at State Capitol Raceway are now available at www.nitrojam.com.

“This is going to be such an amazing weekend, I can’t wait for it,” IHRA president Aaron Polburn said. “The big boys of drag racing are coming back to Louisiana and it’s going to be a thrill to see Bob Motz back on the track. The fans at State Capitol Raceway are in for a treat…Bob is going to put on a show unlike anything they have ever seen before. And IHRA has the fastest dragsters in the world as well so it’s going to be a historic weekend.”

The Inaugural IHRA Nitro Jam race will mark IHRA’s return to the Bayou State. The last time IHRA was there was the 2002 season when it hosted the K&N Filters Nationals at Red River Raceway in Shreveport.

“Louisiana is a great market for drag racing and we missed going down there to put on a show for those amazing fans,” Polburn said. “I can’t think of a better way to kick off the 2009 season, to build momentum for the rest of the schedule. We expect to have unbelievably tight competition all season for the 2009 world championships across the board and every race counts, so the fans at State Capitol Raceway will be seeing these drivers going for broke. There is no such thing as ‘easing your way’ into the Nitro Jam season…you have to go all-out from Day One if you hope to compete for a championship. Our drivers know that.”

IHRA boasts the fastest Top Fuel dragsters in the world, frequently seeing the 320 mph barrier eclipsed as they are the only sanctioning body in the United States to run the 8,000 horsepower nitromethane-burning rails a full quarter-mile.

“I love the fact that IHRA is sticking with the quarter-mile, both as a racer and as a fan of the sport,” IHRA Top Fuel driver Bobby Lagana Jr. said. “I’ve raced both the quarter-mile and 1,000-feet and there are advantages to both…but there is something special about seeing those scoreboards light up with a big 300 mph. There’s really nothing like it in the world.”

Fans can purchase tickets to the 2009 Inaugural Nitro Jam event at State Capitol Raceway by clicking on this link: https://t2.clicknprint.com/tix/SilverStream/Pages/pgIndex.html?siteID=2064

There will be two professional qualifying sessions Friday, May 6…one at 3pm and another at 6pm. Bob Motz, in his new Jet Kenworth, will close the Friday show after professional qualifying is completed. There will be two pro qualifying sessions on Saturday as well, one at 3pm before final pro qualifying as part of IHRA’s world-renowned Night of Fire starting at 6pm. Motz will again close the show Saturday night.

Professional eliminations will begin Sunday at 11am. Championship finals are scheduled to take place at 4pm May 8 with Motz putting the cap on the Nitro Jam season opener when professional eliminations are complete.